Florist&#39;s easel



Oct. 16, 1962 G. w. sNELL. 3,058,706

FLORISTS EAsEL Filed Nov. 9, 19Go George W Snell INVENTOR.

Y www 3% United States Patent O 3,058,706 FLORISTS EASEL George W. Snell, 3009 S. Freeway, Fort Worth, Tex. Filed Nov. 9, 1960, Ser. No. 68,284 4 Claims. (Cl. 248--27.8)

The present invention generally relates to a supporting structure in the form of an easel for use by ilorists and particularly for use by floral designers.

A orist normally is required to make numerous flower sprays, arrangements and the like for various occasions. In order to form the various arrangements, considerable space is required and conventionally, a large table surface is provided so that the designer has sufficient working surface to form the desired spray or ower arrangement. Therefore, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide an easel for use by the floral designer when forming a floral spray or the like, the easel being specifically constructed for orientation on the normally provided table surface so that the table surface is utilized to support the easel in a desired position. Thus enabling more oral designs to be made in a smaller space.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a orists easel having a pegboard thereon which supports a plurality of projections in adjustable position, the projections being adapted to engage and support the floral base form which is usually constructed of a foam plastic or the like which is lightweight and capable of being penetrated by stems, wires and the like.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an easel in which the front legs are longer than the rear legs and a horizontal brace interconnects the lower end of the rear legs and the front leg-s in vertically spaced relation to the lower end whereby the lower ends of the front legs may be disposed in engagement with the vertical side edge of the table surface for orientating the easel in desired position in relation to the table surface.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a florists easel which is foldable into compact condition, constructed of readily available material having weight characteristics which will retain the easel in position, simple in construction, easy to use and effective for its particular purposes.

n These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View of the orists easel of the present invention illustrating the manner in which the easel is supported on a table top surface;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially through the center of the easel illustrating the structure when in folded or collapsed condition;

FIGURE 3 is a transverse, sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 3 3 of FIGURE 2 illustrating further structural details of the device;

FIGURE 4 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 4-4 of FIGURE l illustrating the details of construction of the connection between the brace members and the front legs; and

FIGURE 5 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 5 5 of FIGURE 1 ilustrating connecting the braces to the rear leg.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral generally designates the florists easel of the present invention adapted to rest upon a table top surface 12 having a front vertical edge 14. The table top 12 is nor- 3,058,706 Patented Oct. 16, 1962 ice mally provided in a florists shop for providing a working area and the present invention enables the working area to be more eiciently employed.

The easel 10 includes a pair of front legs 16 and 18 rigidly interconnected at their top end by a transverse top member 20. The legs 16 and 18 and the top member 20 are all constructed of angle iron material having an inwardly facing horizontal flange and a rearwardly facing vertical flange. The corners between the leg members 16 and 18 and the transverse top member 20 are mitered as indicated at 22 as far as the front flange is concerned.

Attached to the front flange of the leg members 16 and l18 is a rectangular pegboard 24 or the like having a plurality of rows of apertures 26 therein. The pegboard 24 is secured in position by virtue of suitable fasteners such as rivets 28 or the like which retains the pegiboard 24 mounted against the rear surface of the outer flange or inwardly extending flange of the angle iron members forming the legs 16, 18 and the transverse top member 20.

Attached to the leg member 18 is an elongated rear leg 30 and attached to the leg 16 is an elongated rear leg 32. The rear legs 30 and 32 are interconnected by transverse bottom member 34 and the bottom member 34 along with the legs 30 and 32 are of angle iron construction and the upper end of the legs 30 and 32 are pivotally attached to the legs 18 and 16 respectively by a hinge rivet 36 or the like. The construction of the legs 30, 32 and 34 is of angle iron material of less magnitude than the angle iron materi-al forming the legs 16 and 18 whereby the legs 30 and 32 and the transverse bottom member 34 will be received between the rearwardly extending anges of the legs 16 and 18 when folded inwardly towards a folded condition which is illustrated in FIGURE 2. The juncture betweeen the legs 30 and 32 and the transverse bottom member 34 is provided with a miter joint 38 similar to the miter joint 22.

It is pointed out that the transverse bottom member 34 interconnecting the rear legs 30 and 32 is disposed above the horizontal plane of the lower ends of the front legs 16 and 18 as clearly illustrated in FIGURE l. Interconnecting the lower end of the leg 30 with the leg 18 is a brace strap 40 and interconnecting the leg 32 and the leg 16 is a brace strap 42 with the brace straps 40 and 42 being pivotally secured to the angle iron members 30 and 32 respectively, by hinge rivets 44 or the like. The other ends of the brace members 40 and 42 are detachably attached to the front legs by virtue of a removable bolt 48 having a wing-type nut 50 thereon for facilitating detachment of the braces 40 and 42 from the leg members 16 and 18 thus enabling the braces to be folded upwardly into nesting engagement with the rear legs 30 and 32 whereupon the entire structure may be folded into a compact and yet neat condition.

Disposed on the pegboard 24 is a plurality of pegs 52 projecting outwardly and slightly upwardly therefrom. The projections 52 have a rod 54 extending downwardly therefrom which rests against the outer surface of the pegboard. The downwardly extending rod 54 is provided with a generally U-shaped member 56 rigid therewith and extending through a pair of adjacent holes 26 and the ends of the rods 56 are upturned as indicated by numeral 58 for retaining the pegs 52 in position but enabling removal and replacement thereof as desired thus facilitating the formation of a floral design or the like.

The easel of the present invention is quite simple in its construction and it provides space for as many as four, and sometimes more, designers to work in the same area required lfor one designer to work in when using the conventional designing table.

The present easel also affords an opportunity for a single designer to work out coordinating designs when required. Otherwise, the designer is greatly handicapped by lack of space and hampered by change in appearance from the normal position of the floral arrangement when made up on a normal work table and its appearance when placed on display. Further, the easel of the present invention may be varied in size, in weight and is foldable into a compact condition.

The construction of the easel of the present invention enables it to be heavy enough to hold its own position at all times under normal working arrangements but still light enough and easily foldable so that it can be removed or changed to a new location by simply lifting it from one location and changing it to another. By the simple removal of two wing nuts, the easel can be folded and stored or set aside in a rack occupying a minimum of space.

Specifically, the easel of the present invention is constructed to set on a table, bar or other surfaces of normal height for ordinary work of this kind. The `front legs 16 and 18 extend below the table surface and the brace members form a support for the entire easel and the easel is constructed in such a manner that it will set rrnly on the table and contains a portion of the legs extending below the brace members for engagement with the vertical side edge of the table top surface thus locating the easel in relation to the table top surface.

The easel of the present invention affords the greatest advantage in providing an instrument which will facilitate the preparation of floral designs and enable the designer to produce more accurate and thorough work, in view of the fact that such `facility affords the designer an arrangement whereby the wreath or other oral design is disposed in a position that is normal for its final use or display. Many times a design is made on the table and when it is placed in its normal position for display, it takes on a different appearance, due to the weight of owers and anchoring of the various elements of the design.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the eXact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

l. For use in a restricted space atop a work bench or shop table, a orists easel comprising a pair of elongated spaced parallel coplanar `front legs, a top member ush with and interconnecting the upper ends of said front legs, a pair of spaced parallel coplanar rear legs pivotally connected to the front legs adjacent the upper end thereof, said rear legs being shorter than the front legs with the lower ends adapted to rest upon the supporting surface of said table rearwardly of the edge thereof, brace members releasably interconnecting the rear legs and the front legs and being connected to the front legs in upwardly spaced relation to the bottom ends thereof whereby the brace members will engage the supporting surface for cooperating with the rear legs in supporting the easel on the supporting surface, the portion of the front legs depending below the front edge of the brace members being adapted to abut the front edge of the table in a manner to prevent 'rearward shifting or movement of the easel on the supporting surface, and a substantially flat plate supported between the front legs in a manner to support a floral piece thereon.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein a transverse bottom member interconnects the rear legs, each of said brace members including a strap, the rear ends of said straps being pivotally attached to the `bottom end portions of the respective rear legs, and means detachably connecting the front ends of the straps to the front legs.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said plate comprises a pegboard having a plurality of rows of apertures therein, and, in combination, forwardly projecting pegs mounted on said pegboard, each of said pegs including hook-like projections for extending through existing apertures provided therefor on the `pegboard.

4. The structure as dened in claim 1 wherein each of said legs comprises an angle iron of relatively heavy material providing weight for the easel to stabilize it, the rear legs being pivoted to the inside of the front legs for swinging movement completely Within the confines of the front legs when -folded to a collapsed condition, said brace members being pivoted to the inner surface of the rear legs for swinging movement into the contines of the rear legs when `folded into compact condition thereby enabling the easel to be folded into a condition dened by the confines of the front legs.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,801,058 Sutcliffe Apr. 14, 1931 1,955,509 Moeckel Apr. 17, 1934 2,723,817 Harwood Nov. 15, 1955 2,732,481 King 1an. 24, 1956 2,961,786 Lowmaster Nov. 29, 1960 

